


Waking Up In Vegas

by Skylar0Grace



Category: Dark Angel
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-05
Updated: 2009-06-05
Packaged: 2017-11-29 17:00:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/689319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylar0Grace/pseuds/Skylar0Grace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drugged, kidnapped and handcuffed. What begins as one very bad day might turn out to be the best day they've ever had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waking Up In Vegas

**Author's Note:**

> My submission for the February ’09 Challenge over at Raising Hell.

* * *

Max woke up groggily, scrunching her eyes tighter as sunlight threatened to get through and wondered where she had fallen asleep – at her desk if the ache in her arm was anything to go on. Max tried to draw her arm in closer to her body but found it restricted; the cold, familiar feel of metal handcuffs causing her eyes to open immediately as she scanned her surroundings. She noticed that at the foot of the bed she was lying on was a trolley with a bowl of strawberries in whipped cream and a bottle of champagne resting in an ice bucket. She was in a hotel room somewhere, cuffed to the bed, and when she looked up Max noticed another hand also handcuffed. Her eyes traced their way down the hand and arm to rest on the sleeping face of Alec.

“Alec!” Max tapped him on the cheek and Alec turned to face her, his eyes opening slowly and confusion evident.

“Max? What’re you doin’ in my bed?”

Max groaned and as she sat up she unintentionally pulled on the handcuffs, Alec’s eyes suddenly flying open as he stared at their restricted hands.

“What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

Alec smirked. “You mean did I drug you and take you against your will to a strange hotel room before handcuffing us both to the bed? I’m not suicidal Maxie!”

“Whatever, just help me get out of these cuffs.”

“What’s in it for me?”

Max grabbed him by the front of the shirt and roughly pulled him close until their faces were inches apart. “You get to keep all your body parts for a start…”

Alec’s eyes comically widened as he began trying to find a weak link in the cuffs. Max sat trying to break the slat at the head of the bed. The firm wood easily snapped under Max’s hand but it still left them with the complication of being cuffed to each other. Max stared at the cuffs and Alec grinned.

“Great Maxie, still handcuffed to each other but at least we can move around.”

Max looked positively horrified at the idea of going anywhere handcuffed to Alec. She pulled him off the bed with her as she began searching the room for anything to break the chain.

“Help me find something!” Max snapped at the stationary Alec.

Alec shook his head. “No can do. Nothing is going to break these. We need the key.”

“What?”

“Manticore issued handcuffs; designed especially for the transgenics.”

“What?”

Alec suppressed a grin at the stunned look on Max’s face. She was staring at the cuffs as though they’d suddenly grown tentacles.

“I’d say this was a White thing but to be honest, he would have just killed us. Or locked us in a cell, not a plush hotel room.”

Max looked up sharply and a glare fell across her face.

“Oh, boy,” Alec said, “this can’t be good.”

* * *

“You’re giving us a holiday?” Max asked and pretended not to notice the slight pause before OC responded.

“Of course, Boo! You two’ve been working way too hard aiight, you need a break.”

Alec watched as Max stared blankly ahead before a small, innocent smile crept up her face causing him to frown lightly.

“Well, then, thanks I guess.” She shrugged even though they wouldn’t see it. “I guess we’ll see you in two days.”

Alec sat in stunned silence and was joined by everyone on the other end of the line as they all processed what she had said.

Dix let out a nervous cough before speaking cautiously. “Okay, we’ll see you later Max, Alec.”

“Bye guys!” Max said happily before terminating the call.

“You don’t honestly believe that dribble do you?” Alec watched incredulously as the overly happy smile dropped from her face only to be replaced by a dark glare.

“Of course not, I’m not stupid.”

“But…”

“You know what they say: ‘The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they’re gonna be when you kill them’! Now, we need to get out of here. Our bikes aren’t here so I guess we might have to take a car.”

Alec stared open-mouthed at her before his lips turned and a lazy smile took up residence. “You wanna jack a car?”

“It’s not ideal but we don’t have a lot of choice.” Alec smirked at Max. She rolled her eyes and hit him on the shoulder hard. “Let’s go find transport,” she said as she pulled him from the room.

* * *

Max and Alec walked past the other guests as inconspicuously as they could and tried to step into the elevator as succinctly as possible but Max moved in a little too quickly and the jacket that was on their intertwined hands fell off. Max looked horrified at the gleaming metal which seemed to be even brighter than before, not noticing Alec stoop down and replace the jacket with ease. Max looked up and saw the elevator staff staring at the now-covered spot where the handcuffs were with a smirk on his face. He drew his eyes back up and met Max’s, the smirk still firmly in place as he said, “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Max struggled to control her furious embarrassment as she glared at him but the ‘ding’ from the opening elevator doors saved him from a sharp reply. Max strode purposefully along, almost dragging Alec before she felt him stop abruptly and turned to face him with a confused look.

“Max, do you have any idea where you are going?” Max opened her mouth but her response died on her lips as Alec continued. “Because you just walked past several rooms, any of which could lead outside.”

Max scanned the corridor quickly and spotted several staff walking in and out of a large room.

“I was heading there,” she pointed, trying to look as confident as possible. “There’re staff walking in and out of it so it might lead outside.”

Alec gave her a pointed look but followed her anyway as she stormed straight into the room, almost knocking over a woman with a vase of flowers before stopping suddenly. Max stared open mouth and Alec suppressed a laugh but failed to stop the huge grin that covered his face. The room before them was a large ballroom that had been made over in reds and pinks, flowers and streamers everywhere in what was obviously a Valentine’s Day event.

“Yuck, it looks like Cupid threw up in here.”

“What’re you talking about Maxie? It’s Valentine’s Day!”

“Yeah, a stupid consumer holiday filled with roses and candy hearts. I don’t know why people spend what little money they have on a stupid ‘holiday’ anyway.”

“Woah, cynical much? It’s supposed to be a day of love Max.”

“Yeah, well love sucks!” Alec raised an eyebrow disbelievingly in her direction and Max rolled her eyes before yanking hard on the handcuffs and dragging a bemused Alec out of the ballroom.

* * *

Eventually finding the front desk, Max strode purposefully forward, slightly dragging Alec behind her. The desk clerk looked up amused before her eyes landed on Alec. Her half smile turned into a full smile directed only toward him. Max seethed but spoke to the woman as calmly as she could.

“Excuse me, could you please tell us the way to the garage.”

The woman didn’t take her eyes of Alec as she responded, a not so subtle wink thrown in at the end. “Sorry, but no cars in or out before the ball. It should have been mentioned to you and your husband on your arrival. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Max grabbed her by the chin and turned the woman’s face toward hers with a small amount of force. When the desk clerk’s eyes were firmly locked on hers, Max spoke again.

“You can get your sleazy eyes off my husband before I report you and you can address the person to whom you were supposed to be speaking. Now we want to take a trip into town to get clothing for the ball so please tell us the way to the garage.”

The woman angrily pushed Max’s hand away. “As I mentioned before, there are no cars in or out before the ball. We have a shop here specifically for this event and you can find clothing there. Cars will be allowed in and out when the valets come back on duty an hour before the ball.”

Max continued to glare daggers at the woman but felt the cuffs tug on her arm as Alec pulled her away. Once they were walking in the direction to the shop the woman had pointed to, Alec leaned in.

“Max, if you kill her, people will be suspicious.”

“I couldn’t care less.” Max seethed, ignoring the mirth in Alec’s voice. Max spotted the shop up ahead and stopped suddenly. “You’d better know your size ‘cause we are not trying things on.”

Alec allowed himself to be pulled along to the men’s section. He pulled out a suit he knew would fit and a deep red tie. Max stared at the red tie in his hands before sighing and moving toward the red dresses. There were several she knew would fit her but she needed something that would be easy to get on while she was handcuffed. She went with a floor length red halter that was slightly sparkly. She had no idea how they were gonna get his suit on but at least they wouldn’t have to worry about her dress and the calf length split up one leg would make it easier if they needed to fight. Quickly finding accessories, they charged the attire to their room and headed back upstairs.

* * *

“Alright,” Max said an hour later, “We memorise a couple of the cars and once the majority of people are inside we’ll duck out and order round one of the cars. We can leave under the guise that I’m sick but the best vantage point without being conspicuous is actually the ballroom. Unfortunately we’ll have to attend…”

“Come on Maxie, you need to loosen up, have a little fun.”

“No thanks, I don’t think I like your kind of fun and stop calling me Maxie.”

“Well, Max, we need to start getting ready if we want to keep an eye on those cars.”

Max looked at the watch on her hand and nodded. They pulled their respective dress bags off the bed and moved toward the bathroom. Max ran as far ahead of Alec as she could and closed the door to the bathroom on the chain. Her movements were fairly restricted by the handcuffs but she thought it was better than having to argue with Alec about the bathroom. Once she was positive Alec was not peering through the gap, Max slipped on the dress and looked at her appearance in the mirror.

Alec stood outside tapping his foot lightly. He had known somewhere in his mind that women take a long time to get dressed but hadn’t really put that information together with Max. He was beginning to feel as if he’d been standing outside forever when Max opened the door and walked out, fiddling with the clip at the nape of her neck. She had twisted her hair up and had applied a little lip gloss. She looked stunning and Alec couldn’t find any words.

Max looked up to find a mute Alec staring at her. Her hand came up and tapped her cheek.

“Do I have something on my face?” she asked.

“Uh, no, nothing.”

Max frowned but pulled on his cuffs, forcing him into the bathroom. “I don’t know how you plan on getting the suit on with those cuffs.”

Alec shrugged before smiling and closing the door. “I’ve got it all under control Maxie.”

Max gave another quick glance around the room in case there was miraculously a set of keys that she had missed. There were a few small tugs on her arm and she was about to ask Alec what he was doing in there when he emerged, fully dressed in the suit and tie. Max’s mouth hung open for two reasons: firstly, Manticore had done well. Alec looked amazing in the suit. Secondly, there was no tearing or stretching of the suit. It was the second reason which she chose to acknowledge out loud.

“How did you…”

Alec smirked and grabbed Max’s hand. He allowed the cuff of his suit to fall over his end of the cuffs, leaving hers out in the open. Max had chosen to buy a bracelet very similar to the cuffs and together they looked like a fashion statement.

“I spent over twenty years in that prison Max and some of that time, in very similar restraints. I’ve learnt a trick or two.”

Max heard the false light heartedness in his tone and chose not to point it out. Manticore was a difficult subject for every transgenic and Max was glad Zack had gotten their unit out when they were kids. Max lowered her head in thought and nearly jumped when she felt Alec’s finger on her chin, tilting her head back up. He stared at her for what seemed like forever before dropping his hand quickly.

“Come on Maxie, we’d better get going or we’ll miss the arrivals.”

He turned around and pulled her from their room. Max chose to ignore the ‘moment’ they’d had as she followed him out, even pushing to the back of her mind that these ‘moments’ were becoming more frequent.

The hallway was quite busy when they exited, many people heading toward the ballroom downstairs but an even larger number rushing past them in various states of readiness. Max laughed as a woman with fiery red hair brushed past her with a curling iron tangled up in the long tendrils and asked a clearly overworked maid for assistance. Even when they had been out earlier in the day they hadn’t seen so many people. Alec led, creating a part in the sea of people for Max to pass through and when they reached the already full elevator, he pulled her hand as they entered, her body pulled flush against his.

Max dared not lift her eyes from the rather awkward position of staring at his chest; after all, she’d rather the embarrassment of having to look there than dare take the risk that he would see something in her face that she was not even sure about herself. Max looked to her left and saw an elderly couple looking at them. The woman gave her a soft reminiscent smile whilst her husband winked at Max, causing her to redden further. She felt a soft rumble in Alec’s chest and she just knew, without looking at him, that he had seen the exchange. Max wished she could have crawled into a cave for the rest of her life but the only place she could possibly move was further into Alec and that definitely wasn’t an option.

The ‘ding’ of the elevator was sweet music to Max and she moved as quickly as her restrictive bonds would allow into the open space behind her. She didn’t even look back to see if Alec was following, the little tug on her wrist was evidence enough. She moved toward the window facing the driveway when she was swung around and landed in Alec’s waiting arms. He immediately brought her arms up and began a waltz.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Max asked as they moved perfectly in time to the music.

“Dancing. Look Max, we’ll need a cover anyway. It’s too conspicuous to just stand at the window watching the arrivals-”

“I wasn’t going to-”

“And there is no better way to keep an eye on the driveway than to be camouflaged by other dancing couples.”

Max glanced around at the other people mingling around the room. A few were talking to each other but the majority had their eyes glued to the incredibly good-looking couple dancing flawlessly across the dance floor.

“Ah, Alec, no one else is dancing.”

Alec grinned and almost on queue, the elderly couple from the elevator joined them on the floor. Alec gave them one of his award-winning smiles and the woman looked across at her husband. She leaned in conspiratorially even though she spoke in a stage whisper.

“Oh Frank, remember when we were that in love?”

Frank merely grinned back at his wife. He offered a quick smile in their direction before whisking them away to join the other couples that had now spilled onto the dance floor. Unknowingly, Alec and Max drifted further into the centre of the room and away from the window. Max tore her gaze away from Alec’s as she looked back toward the window.

“Alec…the window. We should be watching the window.” Max glanced back at the window but her eyes snapped forward as Alec let out an irritated sigh.

“Can’t you even be spontaneous for ten minutes? Would it kill you to have a little fun?”

“I’m not interested in your kind of fun Alec,” Max said angrily, “I just want to get out of here and back to TC where I can get these damn handcuffs off and go on a warpath.”

Alec pulled her closer toward him. “You can’t stand being around me for five minutes, can you?” Alec said angrily through gritted teeth. Max suddenly realised how close their bodies were as she felt his warm breath on her face. She took a step back but Alec frowned at her.

“Is it really that bad being around me?”

“Yes, it is,” Max said in a breathy whisper. Alec’s mouth opened and shut without a single syllable being uttered. Max shook her head and took another step backward, bumping into someone behind her as Alec’s hand fell from her hip. “I didn’t mean it like…it’s just…I mean I can’t do this.”

Max tried to pull her cuffed hand from his when someone else bumped into her. It seemed to shake Alec out of his stunned state and he rolled his eyes and pulled her closer, dancing lightly.

“Think of this as another mission Max. Cooperate and we’ll get out of here faster.”

Alec began leading them toward the window and Max’s mind raced a mile a minute. She had no idea how it had gotten to this stage. Where along the line had she stopped seeing Alec and really begun _seeing_ him? It was crazy. All she could think about now was how close their bodies were and it was as though she could feel every place that his body was touching hers. Her face flushed and she once again tried to pull away.

“Alec please, I can’t do this.”

Max’s voice came out more pleadingly than she would have liked but if it made Alec let her go then it was worth it. She was desperately trying to get her heart to stop beating so fast and Alec’s hazel eyes searching hers were not helping. She felt even more heated under his scrutinous gaze, as though he was trying to find answers to unasked questions.

Max pulled on her hand again but Alec held fast. “Alec…”

Without hesitation, he pulled her flat against his chest. She looked into his eyes and he leaned down giving her a soft, tentative kiss. Max’s body leaned into his as she deepened the kiss, her hand moving from his shoulder to his back as she pulled him closer and enjoyed the warm, familiar feeling of Alec being so close.

Alec pulled back and looked at Max. Her face was flushed and her lips full but her eyes looked scared. She looked like a roo caught in headlights and he was sure that any moment now she was going to sprint – cuffed or not. Her eyes darted to the doorway and he took a risk as he let go of her hip and grasped her chin.

“Max.” Max glanced at him quickly but it seemed that her eyes did not want to meet his. “Max, forget about everything.” Max quickly looked up at him, confusion drawn on her features. “Forget about TC, forget about the other guests and staff, forget about work. The world will still need saving tomorrow. For now, try not to think and just be. For one night just drop this weight you insist on carrying and relax.”

Max didn’t even give it a second thought as she wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him. Alec’s surprise only lasted a second as he pulled her small frame as close to his as he could, revelling in the scent and feel of her. The insanity of the day was forgotten as they stood, wrapped in each others arms, oblivious to the couples dancing around them.

Frank looked over at them before smiling as he stared at the beautiful woman in his arms. “Happy Valentine’s Day Darling,” he said before he leaned down and blissfully kissed her.


End file.
